Toms Shoes, based in Santa Monica, Calif., is giving away a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased. British giant Marks and Spencer has adopted a mission – “Plan A” – to become carbon neutral and to stop sending waste to landfills by 2012.

Meanwhile, Paris’s yearly Ethical Fashion Show, a trade event featuring conferences, workshops and runway shows centred on ecological and social matters, is touring cities like New York, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin and Milan through next year.

The sustainable-fashion movement is blowing up like a big green balloon, with innovative companies finally adding corporate responsibility to the bottom line.

Problem is, as a consumer, after you try on those perfect-fitting jeans, in the 30 seconds it takes to walk to the cash register it’s near impossible to start weighing ecological matters such as water waste and land use, or such ethical matters as labour conditions and charity causes.

“Most people get overwhelmed and turn it off,” said Lindsay Coulter, a.k.a. the Queen of Green for the David Suzuki Foundation.

Setting the standard

Danny Lourenço owns the sustainable-fashion boutique Rien à Cacher on St. Denis St. He’s been doing plenty of eco homework throughout the years.

“Our benchmark is items ‘made locally’ – the majority of our products are Canadian made, and a few are from the U.S.,” he said, explaining that buying locally supports re-investment in the community and economy. It also makes it easier to track how products are made, which is crucial for shop owners like Lourenço.

“Making things locally means using far less transportation,” Lourenço added, thereby reducing the carbon footprint. He also notes that working and safety conditions here are regulated, whereas such regulations don’t necessarily exist in other parts of the world.

“Otherwise, I offer fair-trade-certified products,” Lourenço said. These are imported from developing countries and overseen and approved by the independent FLO-CERT body. The organization ensures that environmental and labour conditions are established among farmers and workers.

Lourenço is also well versed in other labour and organic certifications, but he places most confidence in fair trade. “Human rights and the environment are interrelated,” he said.

At Rien à Cacher, garments made of new textiles, like organic cotton or bamboo, are certified eco-friendly, while any items with a synthetic base have either been recycled or up-cycled. Recycled clothes include items such as fleece made from recycled plastic bottles, while up-cycled clothing refers to vintage or used clothing that has been restyled to fit current trends.

Still, Lourenço added, “We hope people buy our clothes because they’re nice – not because of the concept.”

Going green

Indeed, most sustainable fashionistas are proud of their earthiness but are keen to see more high-style clothing grace the industry. It’s part of an effort to ditch that hippie stigma.

“We want to enjoy dressing up – we don’t want to wear hemp all the time,” said Alexandra Schwartz of Studio Breathe, a sleek-looking yoga and karate studio in Point St. Charles. On Nov. 19, Schwartz will be holding a charity auction for the David Suzuki Foundation to promote ethical consumerism.

Schwartz agrees that, aside from a few cute frilly tops, Montreal’s sustainable-fashion movement tends to produce lots of casual T-shirts and cozy sweaters. Because many of these looks can be granola-heavy, “terms like ‘organic’ can get a negative reaction,” she explained.

Schwartz also believes customers are wary of eco-clothing because of “greenwashing” – whereby companies advertise items as eco-friendly when they have only a small percentage of organic cotton mixed with a bulk load of petroleum-based ingredients. They may also make other eco claims they can’t back up.

In the hopes of giving sustainable consumerism a fresh start, Schwartz has adopted the “blue” philosophy of Adam Werbach, the former head of the Sierra Club and now CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S, the ethical division of the ad agency. Werbach’s “blue” ideology stresses the ethical features of consumerism – like buying a pair of those charitable Toms Shoes – rather than just focusing on the “green” items, such as organic cotton.

At her LivBlu charity auction event, Schwartz will feature both ethically and ecologically sustainable products, from stylish yoga fashion to food to children’s items. Tickets to her event cost $50, but in the “blue” spirit – and because guests cannot wear street shoes inside Studio Breathe – for an additional $30, one can purchase a ticket with a pair of Toms Shoes (originally $60), which can be worn during the event. (Studio Breathe is at 1313 Shearer St. For more information on the auction event, visit www.livblu.com.)

Fashion first

Eva Anastasiu is an ex-Montrealer living in Paris who runs www.ecofashionworld.com with three other partners. The site, which was launched two years ago, has over 1,000 subscribers to its newsletter and over 300 sustainable brands listed.

A regular at Paris’s Ethical Fashion Show, Anastasiu believes the industry’s mission should be to reach out to the global fashion community.

“The goal is to have more fashion designers to go eco-(style) – not necessarily more humanitarians,” Anastasiu said. While she’s all for former Peace Corps workers launching their indie fashion labels, she thinks designers with proven talent should be recruited into the sustainable-fashion movement. That way, they can help improve the industry’s style and image, which is key to igniting an even larger consumer trend. In turn, even more corporations will have to become responsible.

She sees looks becoming more upscale: Last year, John Patrick Organics was nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America award. This year, two more sustainable-fashion designers – Monique Péan and Natalie “Alabama” Chanin – were nominated.

“All this organic culture is a heritage of hippie culture – it’s just where it started,” Anastasiu said. “Now it’s taken up by people who are trained as designers and more fashionably interested brands.”

A case for simplifying

Learning, trying and then learning and trying some more: It’s a fine standard for business and consumers.

“Realize that you are voting with your dollar when you’re making a purchase, no matter how big or small,” said Coulter.

And remember that the “cradle to cradle” philosophy not only affects new clothing purchases, but also means being mindful of how your wash and treat your clothes (in cold water, minimum time in the dryer, avoid dry cleaning) and how long you manage to prolong their lifespan. Refurbishing, up-cycling and swapping clothes are good ways to do this.

And when you’re done wearing your sustainable garb, donate it to charity – it’s both ecological and ethical.